I am not obsessive compulsive, but I have always eaten the last few nuts in the dish, cleaned my kids plates (as in eat their food) if they did not finish a meal, made sure spoons were large enough to stand in a bowl without sinking into the food, and rinsed my dishes before I washed them by hand. I always enjoyed placing my cups and glasses in a straight line in the cabinet. If you watched me put away dishes, you might think I did a lot of unnecessary work to line them up like little soldiers, but the organization made me happy. I felt clean and valiant after an hour in the kitchen. House guests who wanted to help me do dishes after a meal have whined, “Can’t you do it differently just while we are here?”

With that as a background, can you imagine just how much time I spent planning and organizing this quilt for my son and his wife? I have been years in the process. It is mostly finished, and I wanted to share it with you today.

Putting on the first border was the last step before adding the drop-down borders to make the quilt fit the bed. The “windows” are tiny cross stitched pictures of Indian daily life done on linen–all memories from the time of poverty in the development of the nation. Black sashing represents the iron bars which cover every opening, thus preventing thieves from entering windows or doors.

Readers should know this story about our son before we move on. I first thought of calling the quilt Seraglio Windows. Even though the verse below seems to fit, I certainly do not want to call it Prison Windows. The theme idea is that someone is on the inside looking out upon the spectacular world where our son was born and grew up.

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage;

If I have freedom in my love
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such liberty.

Lines 25-32 from a poem called

“To Althea from Prison”

by Richard Lovelace

Border cloth was chosen to approximate the appearance of the houses, the little cement fortresses found in most Indian architecture. The fabric line is Stonehenge but has no relationship to the place in England. Finally, the pillow shams are extensions of the whole quilt–just a smaller version.

My daughter-in-law, Becky, sent these pictures of the quilt on their bed.

While I was trying to finish the last trimmings on the king sized shams I was working at Brett & Cindy’s home (eldest son and his wife). Their second son, James, has a tomcat. Enough said…

Just try to sew on a binding when a cat is around. You will find you are wasting your time trying to chase him away! What is it about cats and quilts?

I can’t possibly forget this unfinished beauty! This is the pillow meant to draw the quilt front and back together.

Thanks for dropping by and for poking around to see what all I have included. You might search the word crochet and see another aspect of my life. So much to do and so little time… I hope to post other such things as time goes on.

I am floored (a pun, if you caught my last post The Floor I Couldn’t Reach). The quilt belongs in an exhibit. And yes, it absolutely speaks of your personality as well as your values and insistence upon organization and clarity, and your longing to tell stories. Simply amazing.

There are times when my dreams are more like nightmares, but I couldn’t let this dream go for some reason. I have another dream brewing. This time it will be for my youngest daughter and her husband–done in rainbow shades of batik. She loves color and the more color the better.

I remembre a saying my mother used so often: Jack of all trades and master of none. That was how she answered me when I wanted to do everything I saw anyone else doing. I crocheted, knitted, wove a bit, painted, smocked and did other types of embroidery, so I guess that makes me Jack–not professional at anything. 😉

Simply Beautiful. What talent and dedication to perfection you have. I have always wanted to learn to quilt; however, I’ve yet to stop to make the time to learn. Someday, I’d like to make that “stop.” Thank you for sharing.
Ps. Thank you for following my blog. I look forward to reading more of yours as well. 🙂

Quilting is an art I have not mastered, but I appreciate being able to share what few I have finished. As the blog begins to grow, I hope to share more of the crafty items that will encourage others to try their own skills. We are here for each other.

It isn’t quite what I had envisioned, but it has potential to tell the story. I hope you were able to use the magnifying software at the bottom of the page I linked to. That shows the little cross stitched pictures plainly. And the pictures of our son were there as well.

This quilt is rich in so many ways–in beauty, in hours invested, in its representation of life in India, both past and present. Thank you for sharing both the quilt and Matthew’s story (via the link) with us, Beth.